


All the Stars in the Sky

by MessyMonster



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Angst, Awkward Conversations, Bro was abusive, Dave has a tad of anxiety, Depressed John, JohnDave trash, M/M, No Smut, Pesterchum chats still, There might be suggestive language but still no smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 10:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24968236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MessyMonster/pseuds/MessyMonster
Summary: Living in the big city is quite the change for John. Most of his life he lived in the quieter suburbs with his father, and everything was fine. But now, on his own, John feels lost and unsure about where his life is going. Until, he becomes acquainted with his pretty cool downstairs neighbor, Dave Strider. As the two start to become closer, they both realize their lives have more meaning than they ever thought they would.
Relationships: John Egbert/Dave Strider
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here are a few things to take note of:  
> -Since John and Dave are adults the rest of the kids are too!  
> -I’m not sure if there will be trolls in this fic, but for now there aren’t going to be any.  
> -There is swearing. That’s why this fic is rated for teens and up.  
> -There is self hate both from John and Dave. I’m also planning to add more angst but I’ll be sure to put warnings.  
> -Characters in this fic are going to have mental illnesses. If I accidentally display these illnesses incorrectly I sincerely apologize and I’ll try to educate myself more.  
> -I’ll try to update as frequently as I can. But I won’t promise anything.  
> -Comments and criticism are totally okay! Let me know how I can improve!  
> -Please also keep in mind that my chapters are short. However, I’m trying to make them longer!  
> With that, let’s begin.

John was stargazing again. Damn, he had to get rid of this habit, making up excuses for himself just to feel more happy than he should. He supposed though it didn’t make a difference. He only ever saw one star each night, and the same one at that. The North Star. It did truly shine throughout the smog and dust that coated the city he lived in. He was glad it was able to pull through. That star would be okay. The one thing that meant most to John, would be okay. He just hopes he dies before the star does itself so he can enjoy it all his life. He started to wonder how much a star would cost to buy. Could he name it something outrageous? Like GalacticGusherCrusher, or maybe Mrs. BettyMagicMan? Actually ew, no. Betty reminds him of those idiotic cakes his father would bake for him. The traumatic PAM spray that could be heard from miles away. A single drop was deadly and John was sure of it. “Idiot, you’re on your own now. There’s no need to get so worked up,” John huffed again, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and then walking back inside, giving the star one last glance. 

~~~

Dave could barely sleep last night. One of his friends, Rose, had decided to inform him all about the amazing wonders of goddamn fucking demons and the paranormal. Let’s just say, it kinda made the blonde a little jumpy. Okay, a lot jumpy. Okay, more like “Holy shit this is the freakiest stuff I’ve ever heard about no wonder why you want a Vampire girlfriend, Rose,” kind of creepy. But, nonetheless, he had to get up. To go do cool shit, obviously. So, he snapped on his glasses and got into some rad clothes. 

Along with the rad gear, he had to go get into his rad car, to obviously go somewhere so sickly cool you could choke on the damn atmosphere. But, of course, he had to run into his lame ass neighbor, John Egbert. 

There was nothing in particular that he didn’t like about this... what? Maybe 20-year-old guy? But there was just something about him that was... uncomfortable, off putting, anxiety inducing? Dave could go on, but decided to leave it at those three. Dave was now extremely dreading this conversation with the eccentric neighbor. But, he still had to try. 

“Hey, Egbert,” Maybe the conversation could have been avoided if he hadn’t, I dunno, NOT SAID ANYTHING IN THE FIRST PLACE?! Dave mentally face palmed. What an idiot. 

“Oh hello there, Dave!” John seemed to be in a good mood. That’s good. However, the blonde was annoyed that Egbert used his first name. His first name to him was more of a sacred word to only be used by close friends. And maybe family if Dave was feeling up to it. Anyway, he was reading too much into this now and just tuning John out, so now he has no idea what John said next. Another point on the idiot list, Strider. 

“Oh! Uhh, yeah that’s cool. Well, I’ve gotta get going-“ Dave points behind him and hold up his keys. Basically telling Egbert his form of transport. He gave an awkward smile, leaving John there, confused as ever. 

~~~

“Geez, I didn’t know a guy could be so secretive of his choice of a movie genre,” John shrugged and decided to just ask Dave again later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for checking this fic out! Commenting is appreciated! <3


	2. Chapter 2

Dave got into his car after that horrifying interaction and huffed out a breath. He looked into his rearview mirror not even to look to pull out of the parking spot. He was simply thinking over what the fuck had just happened. Why did he always have to read into things? Jesus, like a mother fucking book. The ironic part was he hated reading. But being ironic was his job, his duty. It was really the only dignity he had left, but he supposed it was better than having no confidence at all. Dave put the car into reverse and got out of the parking spot. Then, putting it into drive and heading on his way. 

As Dave passed multiple other buildings and such, his mind began to wonder and think about Egbert. Not exactly him or why he acted the way he did, but why the damn geek decided to move into the large city. 

From what Strider saw, John wasn’t exactly... tech-savvy. Sure, he liked blockbuster movies, Con Air, and he did seem to enjoy gaming. But other than that, Dave didn’t see why John moved to the big city. He’s even pretty sure John worked from home. So... why? Why was the damn Eggheaded Egbert making him so nervous. Dave hit the steering wheel in frustration and grit his teeth. His glasses were offset, showing his blood red irises. He readjusted the shades and continued to drive. 

~~~

John was now back in his apartment, writing a few documents and papers. He had an occupation in biology. Specifically, Marine Biology. He had always enjoyed the life of sea creatures and what really goes on in the ocean.

John believes that many people think he is quite the weirdo, but he honestly doesn’t care. He figured he had stopped caring a long time ago. In fact, he’d stopped caring so much he really only focused on what HE thought of HIMSELF. And he supposed it wasn’t quite as positive as he would’ve liked. But, that’s the way life can be. 

Egbert snapped out of his small personal degrading history session and continued on with his work. Hoping he could finish it in time to maybe go to the seaside for an hour or two. 

~~~

Finally, Dave arrived at the coolest place on Earth: The beach. He sighed in satisfaction as he parked his car and headed down there. He took off his shirt so he could run into the water with his amazingly cool trunks. They were designed with retro looking records and red zigzags, the cool zigzags, along with some pockets. They were fucking sick. 

Dave smiles, splashing through the waves and having fun. So much in fact he forgot about his surroundings. And suddenly, someone bumped into him. “Oh shit! Sorry!” Dave looked behind him to find Egbert here of all people. 

Dave froze, a bit shocked that Egbert would be here around the same time. “Uh, it’s fine I guess,” He gave John an awkward smile. He supposed he could try to strike up conversation “So, uh, what are you doing here?” He tried to sound cool, like usual. “Oh. I was just going to relax for a bit. My job can be a bit stress inducing, so I like to relax at one of my favorite places,” Egbert shrugged. “Ah, I see,” Dave nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. “I-I should get going, actually. See you around Egbert!” 

Dave jogged in from the beach to the surface not looking back. To be honest, he felt somewhat guilty leaving John alone all the time. But, he honestly couldn’t handle John when... when they were in public places. He of course didn’t mean to be rude. The stupid nerd simply made him apprehensive. 

And now thinking that, Dave thought how idiotic that sentence was. The energy Egbert have off was just too much. Maybe he should degrade himself while in the car about how he should fucking man up. Yeah, that sounds good. 

~~~

Shit. John felt like he screwed up. Big time. Was Dave always like that? Come to think of it, he did usually run off. Crap, this really wasn’t what John thought of them as. He didn’t think that him and Dave were really... close. But he thought of them more on the friendlier side. What did he do wrong? Feeling defeated, John decided to go back to his own car and think things through. Where he might have gone wrong. And what he could do to fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo again! Uh, I hope people are actually enjoying this fic even though it only has like 5 reads. And anyway, I was able to finish another chapter awhile ago so I thought I’d post it. Comments are appreciated! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey uh, I’m deciding to pull a 180 and give this story some heavier angst. If you are triggered by self harm, please read this chapter with caution! I do plan for more chapters in the future to have heavier themes. I will, however, put a warning if there is anything that could be triggering.

“Alright, that’ll be 5.00$,” Dave was working again at the same rundown 7Eleven. He wished he had a better job. But, this kept money coming in. Even if he’s only paid like two fucking cents an hour. After he rung up a few people’s items, he pulled out his phone and checked his social media. There wasn’t anything that interesting coming up on his feed, so he decided to pop in his earbuds and play some music while he restocked a few items on the shelves.

He was putting some chips on the shelf when he heard the shop’s door open. He turned to see that it was his good friend Rose who lived in the area around the 7Eleven he worked in. “Strider! Long time no see!” Rose smiles and walked up to Dave who was now taking out his earbuds. “As if. We saw each other a week ago.” Dave rolled his eyes but still gave Rose a smile. 

“So, what’s up?” Rose put her hands on her hips and looked around the store for a moment, not seeing anyone else. “Eh, not much,” Dave shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I see,” Rose nodded, “How have you been feeling? Any sort of disturbing stirrings or hormones?” Strider now knew what was going on. Another one of his friend’s psychoanalysis sessions. “Rose, I’m *fine*,” Dave sighed, “And I’m 20 fucking years old. Hormones are long gone.” “Are you sure? You actually have been acting strange,” Rose thought for a moment, “Oh! Is it because of that new neighbor?” Her voice sounded like she was teasing Dave, though she was actually pretty curious. 

“Hell no! Why would you think that?” Dave shook his head and continued to restock the chips, even though he was getting a bit cross with his buddy now. “I dunno. Your life can sometimes be, how do I put this, pathetically boring. So, I just wanted to check,” “Yeah? Well, nothings going on. I haven’t even talked to him,” “So there’s still a possibility-“ “Lalonde! Shut the fuck up!” Rose snickered and shook her head. “You’re just scared.”

~~~

Dave has never felt so anxious in his own home. Based on what Rose has been saying, and damn Egbert himself, he felt incredibly conflicted. 

Finally, gaining some confidence, Dave decided to go talk to Egbert for real. He walked down the small flight of stairs and knocked on John’s door. “Hey! Egbert! You there?” Dave heard some shuffling and then a weak “Oh yeah! I’ll be there in a minute,” Dave sighed. He was already nervous enough. He didn’t want to wait “another minute”. But, soon enough, Egbert emerged from his apartment and grinned. “Hey! What’s uh, what’s up Strider?” John shot Dave finger guns and the blonde couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. “Hey, Egbert. I just wanted to uh, tell you sorry for running off... twice,” he scratched the inside of his palm, feeling awkward. “Hm? Oh it’s okay! Really, no worries,” John huffed, “I understand I can be... difficult at times.” 

Dave was surprised by Egbert’s response. Honestly, he didn’t find the man difficult. Just a bit ditzy and goofy. Maybe even a good amount of strange, but not difficult. Difficult reminded him of when he was younger with Bro. “Oh, it’s really nothing you did. I was just,” Dave gulped, “nervous.” John nodded in understanding. “Gotcha,” Egbert nervously looked around, “Well, I guess I’ll get going?” He chuckled and Dave nodded. “Alright. See you around Egbert.” “Yeah! See ya!” Dave headed back to his apartment and John closed his door.

~~~

As soon as John closed the door, he sunk to the floor of his apartment. He trembled in fear as his arm stung from the fresh cuts. He couldn’t believe Dave didn’t notice. “Way to go Egbert, fooled another person,” He got up and washed the fresh sliced cuts under some hot water. It stung horribly, but he had to get rid of the germs. He bandaged his arm and pulled his sleeve back down. He was just glad no blood got on it. 

As soon as John finished cleaning, he got a notification from Pesterchum. He logged on from his phone and saw it was one of his best friends. 

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 17:35pm  
[GG]: Hey John! :3  
[EB]: oh hey jade whats up?  
[GG]: Not much really. I was just a bit bored so I thought I would pester you!  
[EB]: well im quite bored myself. so i guess were in the same boat!  
[GG]: Yep!! ^w^

Their chat session went on for a few hours into the night until they both agreed to say goodnight and rest up. As John turned his phone off, his mind began to wonder off. But soon, his thoughts came to a close and he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading it really means a lot! Commenting is always appreciated as well! <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave attempts to work up enough confidence to ask John to hang out at his place. While John is unknowingly doing it magically. It’s witchcraft, I tell you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa hey! Hello there! Sorry this took FOREVER to finally get out. My motivation left and just came back recently, so I decided to take advantage and just finish this chapter up. Things could’ve been written better, but I think it’s still pretty good. Enjoy this wholesome chapter!!

“Hey! Uh, Egbert! Do you maybe wanna watch Ghost Busters? Not the feminist ripoff, but the original?” Dave was practicing talking to John in his mirror. It was a new hobby that filled the blonde with a good amount of joy and confidence. “Shit, maybe he likes the remake,” Strider snapped his fingers and began to think of another conversation starter. “Hey! Uhm... John!” This activity also made him a bit anxious, “I saw this really neat indie movie on Lifetime and- no, wait, do Lifetime movies even count as ‘Indie’ movies??? Well, let’s just assume they do-“ he continued on with the sentence he had cut himself off in before, “and I was wondering if you wanted to watch it! I taped it so maybe you can, like, come... over...?” Dave let out a sigh, he thought he was being rather pathetic. He might as well have just talked to John like a normal person and not procrastinate for three whole fucking days. Dave sighed again, walking back to his bed and laying down on it. “What am I going to do?”

~~~

Above Dave, on the second floor, John was actually rather busy doing some more work. He had multiple charts out on his desk, graphing information only a professional Marine Biologist could understand. Egbert really wore the title with pride. He was pretty proud of himself.

While typing away at his computer, John got a message from Pesterchum. It was Jade! Egbert smiled widely and opened the chat client.

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 8:37am  
[GG]: Hey John!! I just found out the most exciting news!  
[EB] what’s up jade! what did you hear about?   
[GG]: I’m gonna be able to come see you soon!   
[GG]: I know it’s rather abrupt but you know how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other!   
[EB]: oh my god yes!!   
[EB]: jade, this is great!   
[EB]: we should start planning now!  
[GG]: Of course, of course!! Let’s get started!

Their chat went on until around 9:15 that morning. Feeling happy and satisfied, John and Jade said their goodbyes and he turned off his computer. Egbert decided to go to the store to get a few things along with “supplies” for his amazing time with Jade. He got into his car and headed out.

~~~

Dave was just about ready to die when he figured out John had gone out somewhere. It took about 3 minutes for the blonde to figure it out. “I guess I’ll have to ask later,” he turned around only to be surprised Egbert was a few feet behind him with a few grocery bags in his hands. Dave tensed and scratched the back of his head. “Hey, Egbert!” “Oh wassup, Dave?” John smiled and Dave looked down at the bags. John’s fingers were slightly red, the weight of the bags cutting off his circulation slightly. “Oh here let me help,” Dave took a few of the bags out of John’s hands. “Oh, thank you!” John got out his keys and opened his front door.

The two walked in and both set the grocery bags on the kitchen counter. John let out a huff and Dave chuckled. “Thank you again for helping me, Dave,” John set down a few more things and closed the front door. “If you want to stay for dinner you can,” John added, starting to put away the groceries. Dave’s cheeks turned a washed-out pink colour. “Uh, sure.” Wow Strider, beaten at your own game. “Great! Would you mind helping me put away a few of these groceries first?” ”No, not at all.”

~~~

The two began putting things away, and Dave noticed there were a few... strange things in these bags. Like, who the fuck buys five bags of marshmallows when going on their normal shopping trip? Apparently, John. 

”Hey, Egbert?” Dave asked, still in disbelief about the marshmallows. ”Yeah, what's up?” ”Uh, why did you get so many marshmallows?” ”Hm? Oh! A really good friend of mine is coming to stay with me for a few days soon! They really enjoy them for some reason.” 

”Oh, ” Dave paused, ”Okay.” 

What did Egbert mean when he said ”a really good friend”? Like, we're they close? Did they hang out a lot together? Dave didn't recall seeing John hang out with many other people around the complex, so probably not. Then who were they? What did they mean to John? 

”Okay, Strider. Slow your fucking roll. It's probably just a normal old friend situation and nothing more. Why are you so curious anyway?” Dave thought all of this to himself, trying to reassure his now slight jealousy and concern. 

”Alright!” John chipped, snapping Dave out of his own thoughts. ”Now that most things are put away, I can start dinner. Would you mind helping?” John smiled. 

Dave hesitated but quickly nodded his head after a few minutes. ”Sure, sounds like fun.”

~~~

John had kept out an assortment of ingredients to make some of the best damn spaghetti of all time. “Do you mind heating up the sauce? It tastes better that way,” John handed the new jar of sauce to Dave and he nodded. “Sure,” Dave got out a pot and poured the contents of the jar into the heating pot. He let it simmer for a bit. “Great!” John clapped his hands and got out a clove of garlic. He also got out a cutting board and a knife. “I’ll start chopping this up. Can you also get out a green pepper and cut that up?” “Sure, Egbert,” Dave got out the pepper from the fridge and washed it under the sink’s water, “I bet this is going to be some good pasta,” he began to mince the green vegetable. 

After lots of chopping and small talk, the sauce was ready. All they had to do was cook the pasta. “I can put in the noodles and set the table. Just make yourself comfortable!” “Thanks, Egbert,” Dave walked out of John’s Kitchen and looked around his apartment. It seemed pretty cool. After looking around for a bit, Dave sat down on John’s couch. “Damn this is comfy,” he mumbled, talking out his phone and going onto social media for a bit.

~~~

Soon enough, the two were ready to eat. John called Dave over to the table and they sat down across from each other. “The food smells great, Egbert,” Dave let out a small chuckle, impressed with his and the other man’s cooking. “Thanks, Dave! I mean- you really did most of it,” John took his fork and twisted some spaghetti onto it. He took a bite. 

“Holy shit this is good.”

John had cursed. The movie geek then began to laugh up a fucking storm. “HAHAH! S-Sorry Dave! Haha- oh my god, hahah!! You haven’t heard me swear before have you??” 

Dave was a bit surprised Egbert had cursed, actually. Not that he couldn’t. But it was definitely something he hadn’t seen before. “Huh? Nah!! You’re totally fine to fucking swear,” Dave snorted, a smile creeping onto his face. John’s smile only became wider from Dave’s stupidly amazing joke. ”That was funny as hell!” John chuckled, though not much of a strong swear, it was something. He took another bite. 

”I’ll give you that as a curse this time. But next time my curse judging will be much more difficult.”

”Alright, Dave. Now let's get to eating!” 

~~~

The two dorks finished their delightful meal eventually and cleaned up. ”Wow, that was the shit. Thank’s so much Egbert, ” Dave put his plate in the sink and let the water run under it for a minute. 

”Oh please, Dave. You helped me make the damn food, ” they got comfortable swearing rather quickly in front of each other, ”So please take it as a token of my gratitude.” John smiled, glancing at Dave for a moment. 

The blonde felt so fucking happy. He really couldn’t describe the feeling. It was like he was high but also drinking apple juice and as well not throwing up a shit ton. So, pretty fucking radical. ”Will do, John.”

~~~

They had finished cleaning up a few minutes ago and now Dave was standing just outside of John’s apartment. Aka, the old stomping grounds of awkward conversation and joyful feelings. 

”Ask him, you idiot, ” Dave told himself, ”This is the perfect opportunity.” 

”Well Dave, ” John started, leaning in his doorframe, looking up at the blonde, ”This was an amazing night. Thank you for the help with the groceries and making dinner.” 

”Hey, it’s really no problem, Egbert. Anytime.”

”Ask, ” Dave’s mind implored, ”Do it.”

”And anytime for me as well, Dave. You're a delight.”

Dave clenched his fists, feeling so fucking nervous. 

”Why, thank you. I've been told how amazingly batshit cool I am.” 

He was still somehow able to keep up that charming, tough, and slick persona. 

John laughed and nodded, saying something else that Dave was too nervous to really hear. 

Or more like listen to. 

”Dave. Are you okay?” The blonde lightly jolted out of his heavy space-out session. ”Oh yeah! Sorry. I think that good meal has me a bit tired, ” he chuckled and John smiled. 

”Alright then, I guess I’ll see you around?”

”Yeah, totally.”

”Okay. See ya!”

”Bye, Egbert.”

John closes the door and Dave is left there a bit of a nervous wreck. Fuck, that was absolutely terrifying. The blonde sighed, soon turning to walk down to his own apartment. 

This was definitely going to take more talking in the mirror to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I always say, comments and criticism are SUPER appreciated! Let me know how I can improve! 
> 
> Thanks, guys! Bye for now! <3


End file.
